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Showrunner
Showrunner is the 21st-century term for the leading executive producer of a Hollywood television series in the United States.D'Arminio, Aubry (October 10, 2016). "Gary Glasberg: 1966–2016", TV Guide. p. 17. The concept has since been adopted in the Canadian and British television industries. A showrunner typically has creative control of a television series production, through combining the responsibilities of the head writer, executive producer, and script editor. In films, directors typically have creative control of a production, but in television, the showrunner outranks the director. History Traditionally, the executive producer of a television program was the chief executive, responsible for the show's creative direction and production. Over time, the title of executive producer was applied to a wider range of roles—from someone who arranges financing to an "angel" who holds the title as an honorific with no management duties in return for providing backing capital. The term showrunner was created to identify the producer who holds ultimate management and creative authority for the program. The blog and book Crafty Screenwriting defines a showrunner as "the person responsible for all creative aspects of the show and responsible only to the network (and production company, if it's not their production company). The boss. Usually a writer." Los Angeles Times columnist Scott Collins describes showrunners as:"Showrunners run the show", "Channel Island" column, Los Angeles Times, 23 November 2007 Shane Brennan, the showrunner for NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles, states in an interview that: }} Often the showrunner is the creator or co-creator of the series, but they often move on and day-to-day responsibilities of the position fall to other writers or writing teams. Law & Order, ER, The Simpsons, The West Wing, Star Trek: The Next Generation, NYPD Blue, Supernatural and The Walking Dead are all examples of long-running shows that had successive, multiple showrunners. Canada The Writers Guild of Canada, the union representing screenwriters in Canada, established the Showrunner Award in 2007, at the annual Canadian Screenwriting Awards. The first Showrunner Award was presented in April 2007 to Brad Wright, executive producer of Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1. United Kingdom In the first decade of the 21st century, the concept of a showrunner, specifically interpreted as a writer or presenter with overall responsibility for a television production, began to spread to the British television industry. The first British comedy series to use the term was My Family (2000–11), which had several showrunners in succession. Initially, the show was overseen by creator Fred Barron from series 1–4. Ian Brown and James Hendrie took over for series 5, followed by American writer Tom Leopold for series 6. Former Cheers showrunner Tom Anderson was in charge from series 7 to the final series, series 11. The first writer appointed the role of showrunner on a British primetime drama was Tony McHale, writer and creator of Holby City, in 2005. Jed Mercurio had carried out a similar role on the less conspicuous medical drama Bodies (2004–2006). But Russell T Davies' work on the 2005 revival of Doctor Who brought the term to prominence in British television (to the extent that in 2009 a writer for The Guardian wrote that "Over here, the concept of 'showrunner' has only made it as far as Doctor Who"). In an interview, Davies said that he felt the role of the showrunner was to establish and maintain a consistent tone in a drama. Doctor Who remains the most prominent example of a British television programme with a showrunner, with Steven Moffat having taken over the post from Davies from 2010 until 2017. Interviewer refers to Doctor Who as "...one of the few UK series with a showrunner". Chris Chibnall has since taken over from Moffat. The term has also been used to refer to other writer-producers, such as Tony Jordan on Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach, Ann McManus on Waterloo Road, Adrian Hodges on Primeval and Jed Mercurio on Bodies, Line of Duty, and Critical. See also * Television program creators * Television producer * Television crew * Screenwriter * Television director * Producer (radio) References Category:Entertainment occupations Category:Media occupations Category:Television terminology Category:Broadcasting occupations Category:Showrunners